The Joy of Fixing, Not Tossing
There was a time when a chipped teacup was not discarded but mended — the crack sealed with care, sometimes even with gold. That time has not passed. It is merely waiting to be remembered.
In a world obsessed with the new, there is quiet poetry in choosing repair over replacement. True elegance is not wasteful — it is reverent.
The Pleasure of Repair
There is a certain pleasure — a refined, slow pleasure — in repair. Sewing a loose button, resoling a beloved shoe, reattaching a fallen earring: these are not chores. They are rituals. Private ceremonies of care, of attention, of saying to the object: You mattered once, and you still do.
Yet, in contemporary culture, fixing is often considered old-fashioned. It is less glamorous than buying, less thrilling than unboxing. But excitement fades, and glamor, when it is real, lies in restraint.
Repair is intimacy. It means knowing a garment — its seams, its temperament. Touching its flaws and choosing to keep it. And isn’t that the most elegant kind of love?
Repair is memory. A coat worn through a dozen winters. A pan used by three generations. To fix it is to keep the thread of history unbroken. It is a way of saying: We are still here, and so are you.
Repair is rebellion. To restore what excessive capitalism tells you to discard is chic defiance. It is a refusal to be swept up in the tide of the new when the old still serves — beautifully, quietly, reliably.
A Parisian woman might polish her handbag from the 1960s. A Japanese artisan might mend porcelain with lacquered gold — kintsugi. And you, perhaps, could re-stitch a hem, shine a boot, or bring a chair back from the edge of irrelevance.
In this way, fixing becomes more than practical. It becomes personal. Sacred, even. It is the opposite of shame. It is pride — subtle, tasteful, lived-in pride.
Learning from What Breaks
Next time something breaks, ask not, “Can I replace this?” Ask instead, “What might I learn if I repair it?”
Repair teaches patience. It encourages mindfulness. It reminds us that beauty is not always bought, and value is not always new. In mending objects, we also mend ways of thinking. We cultivate respect, attention, and care — for the things we own, and for ourselves.
Polish the silver. Patch the sleeve. Glue the handle back onto the cup — and hold it gently. In the act of repair, we discover not just utility restored, but grace, connection, and an enduring sense of elegance.
🌿 Lead Like an Environmentalist
If this article resonated, imagine what a 90-minute session could do.
Eco Coaching blends neuroscience, hypnosis, and leadership insight to help government professionals shed burnout, refine habits, and align their values with elegant, lasting action.
📅 Try a free 30-minute consult — no pitch, just clarity.
Or explore:
The Reset — One session to clear patterns and refocus
The Realignment — Three sessions over six weeks for deeper shifts
The Transformation — Twelve sessions for enduring change